The present disclosure generally relates to a patient support apparatus, such as a stretcher, having wheels or casters for rolling the patient support apparatus from location to location. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a caster braking apparatus for such a patient support apparatus. The present invention also relates to foot pedals for operating other mechanisms, such as an elevation adjustment mechanism.
Stretchers are typically designed to be moved from location to location in a hospital or other healthcare facility. Therefore, stretchers have wheels or casters which permit the stretcher to be rolled and steered between locations. During movement, it is desirable to have free rolling wheels, but upon reaching the desired location, brakes are usually applied to the casters to maintain the stretcher at the desired location. It is well known to provide stretchers with casters which include mechanisms for blocking the rotation of the casters and for blocking swiveling movement of the caster yoke. Foot pedals are typically provided for controlling the caster braking mechanisms of the casters.
When the casters of conventional stretchers are braked, the associated braking mechanisms usually engage the caster wheels with sufficient force to prevent any rolling of the caster wheels, thereby rendering the stretcher stationary for all practical purposes. As such, if a stretcher with this sort of conventional caster braking mechanism is being transported and the transporter desires to slow the stretcher down during transport, such as when transporting the stretcher down a ramp of the type oftentimes found in healthcare facilities, it is not feasible to use the conventional caster braking mechanism because complete stoppage of the rolling of the caster wheels is not desired.
Although the term “stretcher” is used throughout this disclosure, it is understood that the teachings of this disclosure may be incorporated into other types of patient support apparatuses, such as, for example, hospital beds, imaging tables, operating tables, and so on. The term “patient support apparatus,” as used in this description and claims, therefore, shall be understood to include any type of patient support apparatus, such as, for example, a stretcher, a hospital bed, an imaging table, an operating table, and the like.